Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its position in Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Sempra by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $65.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.71. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Sempra Profile

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.